SPJ News

SPJ Blogs: Newest Posts

Quill Headlines

Journalist's Toolbox

@SPJ_Tweets

Connect with SPJ

SPJ on Facebook

Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2015Sept 18-20, 2015 – Orlando

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Orlando for training, networking, workshops and more!

SPJ News

SPJ Blogs: Newest Posts

Quill Headlines

Journalist's Toolbox

@SPJ_Tweets

Connect with SPJ

SPJ on Facebook

Upcoming Eventsand Deadlines

Become an SPJ Member

For more than 100 years the Society of Professional Journalists has been dedicated to encouraging a climate in which journalism can be practiced more freely and fully, stimulating high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism and perpetuating a free press.

About the Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation has promoted excellence and ethics in journalism. The SDX Foundation is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports the educational programs of the Society of Professional Journalists and serves the professional needs of journalists and students pursuing careers in journalism.

Excellence in Journalism 2015Sept 18-20, 2015 – Orlando

Excellence in Journalism is the national journalism conference of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association. Join us in September in Orlando for training, networking, workshops and more!

GOOD LUCK, KAREN! Karen Grabowski, SPJ's communications coordinator since May 2009, is off to her next adventure in Houston, Texas. We wish her well and thank her for the dedicated way she has served SPJ over the past year. Houston is familiar to her — it's where she grew up, so we know she'll have a warm (literal and figurative) welcome back to the Lone Star State. Good luck, Karen! We'll miss you here at 3909 North Meridian.

The new communications coordinator will arrive in Indianapolis in late July. In the meantime, send communications-related queries or concerns to Scott Leadingham at sleadingham@spj.org or 317-927-8000 ext. 211.

WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK. Throughout the year, SPJ seeks nominations for its highest national honors. The awards seek to honor individuals and groups that have impacted the journalism field in the past year. SPJ welcomes you, its members, to view national honors candidates and leave comments for the SPJ Executive Committee's consideration. To leave feedback, you must be logged in to the Members section of the SPJ website and provide your SPJ membership number on the feedback form. Anonymous feedback will not be accepted or reviewed. The identities of those offering comments will not be disclosed outside of the SPJ executive board and the headquarters staff. Click here for a full list of the candidates and to be directed to the feedback form.

POSITIVE REPORTS. Since 2007, SPJ has been thrilled to hold the Reporters Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., at the Poynter Institute. Graciously funded by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the Reporters Institute invites up to 36 early career reporters for three days of "boot camp-style" training, networking and camaraderie. There are two sessions, one for print/writers and another for broadcast/video journalists. Here's a recap of the May 23-26 print institute. And here are testimonials from the June 13-16 broadcast/video group. According to the attendees, the program was a success! SPJ is happy to offer the program next year. Stay tuned for dates and application information in the coming months.

A FEW REMINDERS...The Journalists Toolbox is updated often. Make it one of the first resources you seek when news breaks.

The SPJ Freelancer Directory is a service we provide that brings you one step closer to being connected with an editor. As a member, you can place your profile in the database at no extra charge and your information is immediately available to all editors seeking freelancers.

The SPJ Job Bank is another service we provide to members at no extra cost, and we are continuing to build our database. SPJ also posts jobs that are listed on the News Association of America Job Bank, so you get two databases for the "price" of one!

D.C. PRO CHAPTER HONORS GREATS. The SPJ Washington, D.C. Pro chapter inducted four new members into its Journalism Hall of Fame June 15: Westwood One radio show host Jim Bohannon, Radio Television Digital News Association President Emeritus Barbara Cochran, Washingtonian magazine Editor-at-Large Jack Limpert and former Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief Mel Elfin. Other awards recipients included those who were honored with the Dateline Awards for journalism excellence; John Pekkanen of Washingtonian, who won the $1,000 Robert D.G. Lewis Watchdog Award; and Sue Kopen Katcef, who was presented with the 2010 Distinguished Service Award for her many years of service as an ambassador for student and professional journalists. Learn more about the honorees in the chapter's news release here.

Follow the blogs, keep up with the conversation, and engage with your fellow members and journalists.

TWO AWARDS, ONE FINAL REMINDER. The Pulliam family began and continues a wonderful journalism legacy. SPJ honors and remembers two members of that family by giving annual awards that recognize those who reflect their dedication to the profession and to the First Amendment.

The Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award honors a person or persons who have fought to protect and preserve one or more of the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. Learn more about the eligibility requirements and nomination packets on the SPJ website. You could win $10,000 and a trip to the 2010 SPJ National Conference in Las Vegas.

The Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing is looking for mid-career editorial writers or columnists at a U.S. newspaper to apply for a $75,000 fellowship! This award allows the Pulliam Editorial Fellow to take courses, pursue independent study, travel or pursue other endeavors that enrich their knowledge of a public interest issue.

Further information and the applications are on the SPJ awards page. The postmark deadline for both awards is July 1. Please contact awards coordinator Lauren Rochester at lrochester@spj.org or 317-927-8000 ext. 210 with questions. Good luck!

NEWS FUND INTERNSHIPS — PLAN NOW. The Dow Jones News Fund is in the recruiting phase for summer 2011 internships in business reporting, sports, news and multimedia editing. Selected interns serve during the summer of their junior, senior or graduate studies years. Participants receive pre-internship training before beginning paid internships with one of 60 media outlets. See the DJNF website for more information and application instructions.

LAST WEEK'S QUIZ. Q. The vuvuzela, a plastic horn that fans have been playing during the World Cup, has been the cause of disruption and annoyance during matches. How many decibels can the vuvuzela reach, and it has the potential to be louder than what power tool?

A. 127 decibels, which is louder than a chainsaw (we also took hammer drill, lawn mower, air horn, weed eater or jackhammer)

Congratulations to this week's winner, Michael Drudge of San Antonio, TX! A surprise SPJ gift is on its way to you soon — enjoy!

To everyone else, we hope you'll join the fun this week for a chance to win...

THIS WEEK'S QUIZ. Q. This week, Rolling Stone became one of the most widely discussed magazines of recent memory — but not for any digital innovation or the antics of longtime editor and publisher Jann Wenner. The magazine's "Runaway General" article about Gen. Stanley McChrystal has caused shockwaves in the military and political world, causing McChrystal to resign his Afghanistan command Wednesday. We can't help but wonder — as Diane Rehm did today on her radio show — if the tone of the piece would have been different if reporter Michael Hastings had only spent one day with the general and his staff, as originally planned. Why did Hastings end up in the general's company for much longer?

Submit your answer to Scott Leadingham for a chance to win the weekly prize. Remember, every correct entry will be placed into a drawing from which the winner will be chosen. The winner will be announced in next week's SPJ Leads.